Rosh Hashanah 27

ROSH HASHANAH 26, 27 - sponsored by Reb Wolf Rosengarten of Zurich, in honor
of Rav Moshe Soloveitchik Zt'l and the dedicated students of the Yeshiva he
established in Moscow.

1) A HOLE IN THE SHOFAR

OPINIONS: The Mishnah states that a hole in a Shofar that was filled in
invalidates the Shofar only if the sound of the Shofar is altered as a
result of the hole. If the sound can be heard properly even with the hole,
then the Shofar is valid.
The Gemara cites a Beraisa in which the Chachamim and Rebbi Nasan argue
about the validity of a Shofar that has a hole that was filled in. The
Chachamim say that the Shofar is invalid if it has a hole that was filled
in. Rebbi Nasan says that it is valid as long as the hole was filled in with
the material of a Shofar ("b'Mino"); if it was filled in with some other
material, the Shofar is invalid. Neither the Chachamim nor Rebbi Nasan
relate to whether the sound has changed as a result of the hole.

In what case are the Chachamim and Rebbi Nasan arguing? On one hand, perhaps
they are referring to a Shofar in which the sound of the Shofar has been
altered as a result of the filled-in hole. If that is the case in which they
argue, then Rebbi Nasan adding a leniency to the ruling of our Mishnah, for
he holds that the Shofar is valid even though the sound has changed as long
as the hole was filled with Shofar material. On the other hand, perhaps they
are referring to a Shofar whose sound did *not* change (after the hole was
filled in), and the Chachamim in the Beraisa are more stringent than our
Mishnah, for they say that the Shofar is invalid even though the sound did
not change. Even Rebbi Nasan is adding a stringency to our Mishnah, because
he is adding a condition and saying that the Shofar is valid only when the
hole is filled in with Shofar material.

(a) RASHI (DH b'Mino), the RAMBAN (Derashah for Rosh Hashanah), and the
RAMBAM explain that the Beraisa is more stringent than the Mishnah. A Shofar
with a hole that was filled in is valid only according to Rebbi Nasan, and
only if two conditions are met: (1) its sound did not change as a result,
(2) it was filled in with the same type of material as the Shofar. Rebbi
Yochanan, in the Gemara, adds a third condition and says that the Shofar is
valid (3) only if a minority of the Shofar was punctured and filled in.

(b) TOSFOS (DH Nikev) and the ROSH (3:5) explain that the Beraisa is more
lenient than the Mishnah. Even the Chachamim of the Beraisa permit the
Shofar to be used if (1) its sound has not changed as a result of the hole,
and (2) only a minority of the Shofar was punctured and most of the Shofar
was intact in its original form, as Rebbi Yochanan adds. They do not
differentiate between whether the hole was filled in with Shofar material or
with some other material. Rebbi Nasan is even more lenient and holds that
even if the sound *has* changed as a result of the puncture, the Shofar is
still valid, as long as it was filled in with the same material as the
Shofar.

HALACHAH: The Poskim rule like Rebbi Nasan (since Tosfos cites a Yerushalmi
that asserts he is the Tana of our Mishnah). In addition, a Shofar that was
punctured can be valid only if most of it remains intact, as Rebbi Yochanan
ruled (according to the first, more stringent, Lashon of the Gemara). The
Shulchan Aruch rules that l'Chatchilah two other conditions must be met in
order to permit using the Shofar: (1) the hole must be filled in with Shofar
material, and (2) its original sound must not have changed as a result of
the hole (like the opinion of Rashi, (a) above).

However, b'Di'eved the Shofar is valid as long as most of it is intact and
*one* of the two other conditions is met -- either it was filled in with
Shofar material, or its sound has not changed, even though it was filled in
with some other material (like the opinion of Tosfos (b) above, see SHULCHAN
ARUCH 586:7.)

If the hole in the Shofar causes *no change* in the sound, then even if it
is not filled in the Shofar is valid (MB 586:28). If the sound *did* change
and the hole was not filled in, the Shofar should also be valid, according
to the Yerushalmi cited by Tosfos. However, the RITVA and others do not
permit using such a Shofar, and therefore one should not use the Shofar
without first filling in the hole (as described above).